THE SYDNEY Swans’ coaching group doesn’t just have the best interests of the Bloods in common.

Their history goes back way further than that.

Forwards coach John Blakey played with fellow coaches John Longmire and Brett Allison at North Melbourne, and previous to that he donned the same guernsey as Paul Roos at Fitzroy.

All of which makes for a rather close coaching team at the SCG.

“We’re a pretty tight bunch and I think it makes for a really good environment to work in,’ Blakey says.

However he says that with a hectic work schedule at the Swans there isn’t much time for nostalgia.

“We’ve all got jobs to do,” Blakey says.

“We do take the mickey out of one another on different occasions but we’re generally pretty intense in what we’re trying to achieve.

“We’re not into reminiscing much. We’re old hacks anyway,” he laughs.

Blakey, who played 135 games with Fitzroy and 224 with North, spent four years as an assistant coach with Brisbane before moving to the Harbour City, and he believes the Swans are now benefiting from the coaches’ varied backgrounds.

“It’s funny how things work out,” he says.

“We all went our different ways after our footy careers ended, but we all ended up here. That was important for all of us as well, so we could get different ideas and influences from different areas.

“So we all have different things to offer to the Swans.”

Blakey certainly got valuable experience at Brisbane. He took over as head coach for one match, in round 18, 2005, when Leigh Matthews’ mother passed away.

“We were playing the Bulldogs and I stepped in. Unfortunately we lost by 20-odd points.

“It was a great experience though. It’s good to have hold of the phone and be able to throw in your ideas the whole time.”

However he insists that he has no intention of taking permanent control of a club’s ‘phone’ anytime soon.

“I don’t think about it at the moment. If the right opportunity came up you’d look at things like that but I’m not actively going out there and seeking that.”